The St. Cloud Cross

December 12, 1989|By Ishmael Ahmad of The Sentinel Staff

A Latin cross was removed from a city of St. Cloud water tower Sept. 29 following a federal court order and replaced with a Greek cross.

Robert I. Mendelson, a Jewish resident of Osceola County, and the American Civil Liberties Union sued to have the Latin cross removed, claiming it violated the U.S. Constitution's separation of church and state.

The new cross is similar to the Latin cross but is not considered the symbol of Christianity by some. ''I'm not happy with it,'' said Kathryn Wolf, speaking of the new cross. ''It's a nonentity. It's a plus sign.''

Wolf, who led the fight to save the Latin cross, now owns it and keeps it in her garage, she said.

It will be rewired and restored before it is erected atop a 500-foot radio broadcast tower that will be constructed by Bill Newman, an Osceola County contractor, just west of St. Cloud.